ANZSCO 3211-11 Victoria

Automotive Electrician October 2016 Current labour market rating Shortage Previous labour market rating (December 2014) Shortage

Comments The survey found a shortage of automotive electricians in Victoria. Employers experienced persistent difficulties attempting to fill vacancies with qualified, skilled and experienced applicants. Survey results The Department of Employment 2016 Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised (SERA) for automotive electricians in Victoria found that, overall, 20 per cent of vacancies were filled from averages of 3.9 applicants and 0.7 suitable applicants per vacancy: Metropolitan areas attracted averages of 3.6 applicants and 0.7 suitable applicants per vacancy, resulting in a 14 per cent fill rate. Regional areas attracted averages of 4.7 applicants and 0.7 suitable applicants, resulting in a 33 per cent fill rate. By contrast, surveys conducted between 2010 and 2015 recorded a higher proportion of vacancies filled, ranging between 29 per cent and 53 per cent. The average number of suitable applicants per vacancy however, has remained relatively stable between 0.6 and 1.0 over this time period.1 Role settings Surveyed vacancies primarily involved either repair and maintenance services in workshop and mobile/on-site settings (for passenger vehicles, trucks, buses, boats, motorcycles and earth-moving equipment) or niche manufacturing areas related to specialist vehicles (such as drag racers) as well as trailers and caravans, campervans and motorhomes. Qualifications, other certificates, licences or registrations A trade qualification relevant to the automotive electrician trade was essential for all Victorian vacancies. The majority of vacancies also required applicants to possess a current driver licence and some employers also required applicants to have obtained an ARCTick licence or Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) certification. Experience The length of experience expected of applicants by some employers ranged from three to eight years, depending on the level of autonomy or degree of specialisation required. Most employers, however, stated that an applicant’s ability to demonstrate that they possessed a skill set relevant to the advertised role was more important than duration of experience.

1 The automotive electrician occupation was surveyed nationally in 2015 and found to be in shortage with a 58 per cent fill rate: discrete 2015 ratings for each state and territory are not available. Labour Economics Office Victoria Department of Employment Skills Problem-solving and the ability to read and interpret schematics were commonly identified by employers as critical trade skill areas for all roles. Other desired skill sets were dependent on the specific role of particular vacancies: employers for automotive electrician roles in niche manufacturing areas were focused on skills related to the fit-out of complete automotive electrical systems and the installation of aftermarket accessories and specialist devices; and employers of service and repair based roles concentrated on recruiting for skills related to diagnostics and fault rectification of late model vehicle electrical systems, as well as the installation of after-market accessories and specialist devices. Unfilled vacancies  Eighty per cent of employers experienced unfilled vacancies, with the majority of these reporting that their vacancies could not be filled because none of the applicants were found to be suitable. Some employers perceived that fewer automotive electrician apprenticeships are currently being offered and that this has contributed to the current shortage. High wage expectations driven by demand from the mining industry was identified as a recruitment challenge for this occupation, with some employers advising that Victorian market conditions could not meet or sustain these wage levels. The majority of employers noted that, in order to cope with unfilled vacancies, they took on the additional work themselves while continuing to advertise. This meant longer waiting times for job completion and therefore potential frustration for clients. In a limited number of cases, where resources permitted, employers had taken on apprentices to assist with current workloads as well as bolster the future supply of automotive electricians. Demand and supply trends Demand for automotive electricians is influenced by activity within the automotive repair and maintenance sector, the number of registered vehicles and the mining industry2. The number of registered road vehicles in Victoria has experienced ongoing growth since 2011. Growth in this sector is expected to remain strong with a 2.5 per cent increase in the year to January 2016.3 Employment in the mining sector has fallen with the national workforce reducing by 15.7 per cent between June 2012 and June 2015.4 Entry into this trade is generally via an apprenticeship which also includes completion of a certificate III level qualification. As a broad indicator of supply, data from the National Center for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) shows 42 Victorian training completions in 2016 for Certificate III courses in automotive electrical technology. Training completions in 2016 show a decrease of approximately 22 per cent on the average number of completions over five years to 2015.5

2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force Survey, annual average 2016 3 ABS, cat. no. 9309.0, Motor Vehicle Census, January 2016 4 ABS, cat. no. 8415.0, Mining Operations, Australia, 2014-2015 5 NCVER, Apprentices and Trainees, March 2016, estimates